BENCH-SOURCE ANNEALING MACHINE

16 Pages·2010·1.23 MB·English

by  D. Dorris

BENCH-SOURCE ANNEALING MACHINE
Model: 10G107
VERTEX MANUFACTURING CORPORATION
I. Introduction
II. Cautions
III. What’s in the Box & WhatYou Will Need
IV. Annealing Info and Why Annealing Helps
V. Machine Setup and Operation
VI. Warranty Information / Service
Specifications andsubject mattercontainedherein aresubject tochangeorrevisionwithout notice.
I. Introduction:
Thank you for purchasing a BENCH-SOURCE case neck annealing machine. This unit is used
exclusively to anneal and refurbish your Bottle Neck and Long Straight Wall cartridge cases for
reloading. It will restore your case necks to ‘like new’ conditionand extend the life of your cartridge
cases. The net result is reduced reloading cost and improved accuracy. The uniformity of case
neck tension will allow you to seat your bullets with less run out and more consistency in your
reloads.
Other benefits not found on other competitors models-
1) You may use one or two heat sources. Not necessary to perfectly setup two nozzles because
the cartridge case spins on a stationary spindle while heating.
2) Torch tips are adjustable in height, angle, distance and vertical tilt by two clamp knobs. (No
Wing Nuts) Sets up in 2 minutes from 22 Hornet to the Largest Magnum Cases after you are
familiar with the unit. (Can be supplied for .50 Caliber)
3) Time of heating is adjustable from 1.5 to 10.0 seconds. Precise control is supplied by micro-
processor unit and 10 bit analog/digital converter. Processor has both a 'Setup' (Manual) control
and 'Automatic Cycle'.
4) Table Top and Index Plate are made from aluminum and fan cooled by a huge 50 CFM Fan
Unit. They will not heat up significantly during use! No plastic to bow or warp. Table acts as a heat
sink to help maintain hardness in the cartridge case head.
5) Index Plate is fixed and indexed by a Geneva Drive Wheel. The wheel is always engaged and
will not “free wheel”. This reduces the chance of binding and over loading motors. It also eliminates
the necessity of confirming wheel position before operation.
6) The unit has a small foot print of 10” Wide x 12” Long x 6” Tall(Excluding Clamp Posts). Weight
is approximately 12 pounds. Unit is sized for portability.
7) Supplied with a built in level and (4) adjusting feet. (Unit only needs to be
moderately level). The Drive Wheel thickness is 1/4" eliminating cartridge tip over in
almost any caliber.
8) All aluminum parts are anodized either Black or Clear to prevent oxidation over
time and has a very pleasing look. Guarding is made from #3003 decorative
aluminum with a natural finish for long term eye appeal.
9) The unit will process about 500-600 cartridges per hour. Average time is 4-5 seconds for
heating and 2 seconds for indexing on most .308 and Magnum case sizes. (Can be programmed
up to 10 seconds heating time for single torch use or .50 Caliber Annealing)
10) Limited lifetime warranty on materials and workmanship to original owner.
(Electronics & Motors are limited to 2 years).
11) If ordered direct from BENCH-SOURCE the unit has a 30 day, no questions asked
return guarantee. (Please contact us for details).
Form: Man10G107Rev. –A- 2 03-26-2010
II. Cautions
As with any piece of equipment with moving parts and extreme heat in close proximity to the
user, one must be alert and aware of the dangers that could cause personal injury to
themselves and others. Below are just a few of the ‘COMMON SENSE’ rules that must be
exercised while using your new CASE NECK ANNEALER.
1. ALWAYS place your unit on a solid, rigid bench or table top to prevent the chance of being
knocked over or off of the work surface.
2. NEVER allow children to operate the annealer or play in the immediate vicinity while
annealing cases.
3. ALWAYS anneal in a location that will provide plenty of ventilation and fresh air to the area.
4. NEVER anneal in a closed room or shop area! Carbon Monoxide will be present in the
immediate area from the burning of your torches. It may build up in a very short time
causing personal injury or death. Read the Instructions and Warnings that came with the
torches you decide to use.
5. NEVER anneal cases without first de-priming them. Even if they are fired, it is extra
insurance that your cases will run true on the spindle of the machine and that no one
accidentally mixed in a primed case by mistake.
6. ALWAYS confirm that there is no loaded ammunition, primers, powder or flammable
substances in the vicinity of the annealer while it is being used.
7. NEVER leave the area where your annealer is being used or while the torches are lit. A
phone call or other distraction could spell disaster if 100% of your attention is not directed
toward the machine while in use.
8. ALWAYS be cognizant of the fact that the annealing machine may be hot enough to
severely burn you or others. Although we have implemented a cooling fan into the design of
the unit, some parts may be too hot to touch. This may be the result of your setup and the
torches putting excessive heat into the Table Top or Carrier Plate. It is normal for the Clamp
Assemblies which hold your torch nozzles heat up, and may be too hot to touch during use.
9. NEVER attempt to anneal short cases such as PISTOL Brass. While the brass itself may
be annealed by using more controlled machinery, the BENCH-SOURCE Annealer is not
designed to properly anneal this type of spent cartridge. CASE HEAD SOFTENING WILL
OCCUR, rendering the cases useless. They will lose the necessary head hardness leading
to failure upon firing! This may result in damage to your firearm and injury or death to
yourself and others.
10.NEVER try to modify or use your new annealing machine to do something other than that for
which it is designed. Your annealer was designed and manufactured to anneal Bottle Neck
or Large Straight Wall Cartridge Cases after firing. Use your machine only to anneal Fired
& De-primed cartridge cases!
Form: Man10G107Rev. –A- 3 03-26-2010
11.ALWAYS wear eye protection and have a fire extinguisher near by while annealing. The
use of heat resistant gloves such as those sold at welding supply stores is also necessary.
Never wear cotton, latex or any other type of glove that is not heat resistant. They may melt
to your hands or catch on fire causing severe and or permanent damage.
12.ALWAYS unplug your unit FIRST from the electrical source and then disconnect the fuel
supply from your torches. Also, be sure to connect your fuel supply FIRST then wait a few
minutes before plugging in the Power Supply that came with your unit. Minute amounts of
fuel vapors may be present and must dissipate prior to any electrical connection to the
machine.
13.ALWAYS replace a blown fuse with one of the same ratings as supplied with your unit.
DONOT replace the fuse supplied with one larger than shown on the OPERATOR PANEL
just above the fuse holder. This may lead to destruction of your power supply or worse yet,
cause harm to your power outlet.
14.ALWAYS select a safe & secure storage place to prevent unauthorized use or misuse by
someone not familiar with your annealer. If you loan your unit to a friend, include this
manual and caution them to the dangers involved.
15.ALWAYS remember, shooting and reloading are fun recreational activities as long as we
stay safe. A little common sense will go a long way toward safety and enjoyment of our
sport. We want you to be a BENCH-SOURCE customer for a long time to come!
REMEMBER: SAFETY FIRST. PAY ATTENTION!
If you have problems, concerns, questions or comments, BENCH-SOURCE is here for
you. Please contact us anytime via the methods below……..
EMAIL: [e-mail]
Click on the “CONTACTUS”Tab on
OUR WEB SITE: www.bench-source.com
PHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
HOURS of OPERATION:
8:30 A.M. –5:00 P.M. Central Standard Time Monday~Friday
Or
Write to: Vertex Manufacturing Corporation
PO Box 949
Olive Branch, MS 38654-0949
Form: Man10G107Rev. –A- 4 03-26-2010
III. What’s in the Box & WhatYou Will Need
After you unpack your machine and see the quality construction we know that it will be tempting
to jump right in and get things going. Please take a few minutes to ensure that everything listed
below has been removed from the packaging and take note of what else you will need to begin
annealing.
Contents:
Inside the box is a poly bag containing (4) Leveling Feet, (2) Nylon Washers, (2) Clamp Knobs,
(2) Clamp Sets for securing your torch nozzles and (1) Clamp Plate. Also included is your AC
Adaptor to power the electronics & drive motors. You should find separately packaged, a
Carrier Plate for indexing your cartridge cases. Please see below….
Assembly:
1. After removing the contents from the package, please turn your annealing machine up side
down and screw the (4) adjusting feet into the bottom of the tapped holes in the legs.
2. Right the machine with the index sprocket and clamp posts up as shown on the cover of this
manual.
3. Place the Carrier Plate over the 5/8 diameter pin in the Sprocket with the two ¼ studs
passing thru the kidney shaped slots in the plate. Make sure that the Carrier Plate rotates freely
around the 5/8” pin.
4. Next place the Clamp Plate over the studs (with the bevel side up) and the 5/8” center pin.
Top these off with (1) Nylon Washer and (1) Clamp Knob on each stud. It is not necessary to
tighten the knobs more than finger tight. Carrier Plate orientation is not important at this point.
Form: Man10G107Rev. –A- 5 03-26-2010
Other Items You will Need:
We have used several torches to anneal cases while developing your new machine. The
Clamps supplied with your annealer are manufactured slightly oversize to accept ½” diameter
nozzles. Any propane torch made by ‘Bernz-O-Matic’®, ‘Worthington’® and others should work
fine as long as they have ½” diameter nozzles.
(NOTE: When placing the nozzles into the clamps, ensure that you do not cover up the
inlet holes at the base of the nozzle. This will make them burn lean and possibly
overheat the nozzles and Clamp Assemblies.)
What we have most often used is a pair of kits from ‘Bernz-O-Matic’®. The Torch Kit Part
Number is #UL100 and comes with one propane tank & one torch. Cost is about $11.00 per set
from your local hardware store. If you would like to purchase the torches separately, the Part
Number is #UL2317.
Aside from the torch units, we recommend using a temperature sensing liquid named
‘Tempilaq’®. It is made by Tempil® Corporation, South Plainfield N.J. We buy ours from
McMaster-Carr®. You can order via the internet, http://www.mcmaster.com/#temperature-
indicators/=69wlzo or by phone [phone]. Tempilaq® is also available from many
welding supply houses. (NOTE: Do not use the temperature crayons. The liquid is far superior
on cartridge cases.) Also, please read all warnings and directions for use in the
Tempilaq® package. While ordering, go ahead and purchase a bottle of thinner for the
Tempilaq®. A few drops of thinner will restore the solution to its original condition after it begins
to dry out and thicken over time.
When ordering, you will have to specify the temperatures you desire. We most often use 650°F
for sensing neck & shoulder temperatures and 350°F or 400°F on the lower half of the case
body. Temperatures may vary according to the way you use your annealer, but these
will be good starting places. We will explain in detail how to apply the Tempilaq® to
sense the temperature while you are annealing in the SETUP SECTION.
Form: Man10G107Rev. –A- 6 03-26-2010
IV. Annealing Info and Why Annealing Helps
Please take a minute and read why BENCH-SOURCE made the decision to provide our
Annealing Machine to shooters like you. After all we have been shooting for longer than we will
be truthful about!
First off, the term annealing is applied to many different types of materials throughout many
industries in the world. The term is used to indicate that a material such as steel, brass, copper,
plastic and some rubber needs to be softer. The purpose for this softening varies as much as
the types of materials that can be annealed.
For example, when we anneal any type of steel in general, it is usually to improve machinability,
to modify features or add features that can not be done in a heat treated state. Sometimes it is
used to make the properties of the material last longer or more stable and sometimes to
accelerate wear to minimize failure of mating parts.
When steel is annealed it is heated to perhaps 1800° F or more and allowed to slowly cool in
still air. This will bring the material to its most malleable or soft state. After annealing it will bend
or deflect with less resistance and usually without breaking or splitting.
When we anneal cartridge cases, we are also softening the material in an attempt to lower the
hardness. While most steel will harden by working it excessively, all brass, bronze, copper and
other non-ferrous materials are easily work hardened.
Most cartridge cases are made from material known as Cartridge Brass. It is an alloy of 70%
Copper and 30% Zinc. Alloys of the brass will vary slightly from one manufacturer to another
but 70/30 is the base line. The reason this material is chosen is because it forms well, is less
expensive than other brass or bronze with a higher copper content and is well suited to being
hard in one area such as the case head area, while remaining fairly soft in areas such as the
neck and shoulder. As you may imagine or by referencing your reloading manuals, flame
temperatures in modern cartridges using smokeless powders are usually in excess of 5000°F.
If the cartridge case didn’t expand and seal in our chambers properly on firing, many of us
would not be here today! This brings us to the explanation as to why we need to anneal.
Many people reference the fact that you heat steel to make it harder. While this is true, it is not
heated to the same temperatures as to anneal the material. The effect of heating both of these
materials is essentially the same. When your cartridge cases are heated to 650°-700°F they are
annealed, but not to a dead soft state. The intent is to lessen stresses from sizing & re-sizing
and to soften the brass in the desired areas to minimize work hardening. When you anneal you
are transforming the grain structure from rather small and tightly constrained into an elongated
and more loosely constrained state.
By returning your brass to this condition, you will give it a longer life by eliminating
neck/shoulder splits while realizing better accuracy from uniform neck tension on your reloaded
cartridges. Of course other areas such as the primer pockets, case stretch and head condition
will determine how long your brass will last in a given caliber and type of cartridge.
CAUTION:
Based on the information above, we would like to caution you, the reloader, that
special attention to important items such as recording the number of firings and
Form: Man10G107Rev. –A- 7 03-26-2010
documenting cartridges from lot to lot in your reloading log. Annealing your
cartridge cases does not mean that your brass will have an infinite life! Pay
attention to things such as case stretch and overall length as well as the number
of trimmings. There are many reloading manuals available which explain
dangerous situations and what to look for. We hope you are an experienced and
conscientious shooter. If not, please take our advice and seek help if you’re not
sure of what you are doing!
Form: Man10G107Rev. –A- 8 03-26-2010
V. Machine Setup and Operation
At this point you should have your machine located on a solid bench or work surface. The
Leveling Feet should be installed and the Drive Plate, Clamp Plate Washers & Knobs in place.
There are only a few steps involved in setting up your new machine. After you have used it a
few times, you may develop your own routine, however we suggest you start as described
below.
Steps:
1) Level your machine by centering the bubble in the circle on the round level mounted in the
table of your machine. This is for reference only. The Table Top does not have to be
perfectly level to prevent cartridge cases from tipping while indexing.
2) Referring to the picture above of the Operator Panel that is mounted on the left side of your
machine, please plug the Power Supply into your wall outlet and the other end into the
bottom right of the Operator Panel.
3) Turn the machine on by toggling the ‘On/Off’ switch to the “I” position. You should hear the
fan inside come on and the green power indicator light should shine bright.
4) Rotate the ‘Timer Control Knob’counter-clockwise to its minimum setting of approximately
1.5 seconds as shown in the picture.
Form: Man10G107Rev. –A- 9 03-26-2010
At this point we would like to explain the operation of the MANUAL/AUTO Switch located on the
top right of the Operator Panel. (Don’t worry about the position of the Drive Plate or the fact that
no cartridge cases are in the plate at this time).
The purpose of this switch is to setup the machine (Manual), then place it in ‘Auto Cycle’mode
after setup is complete.
5. Lets begin. Please press down and release the Auto/Man switch one time. The machine will
index one station then stop. At this point, press down and hold the switch a 2nd time. The
machine will rotate the spindle. This is to check run out of the cartridge case. It will continue to
rotate as long as you hold the switch down.
After you release the switch, again press down to ‘Manual’ a 3rd time. The Drive Plate will again
rotate to the next station. The 4th press will rotate the spindle a second time.
The electronics are designed to continue these two recurring functions each two presses of the
switch to the ‘Manual’ position.
6. After rotating the spindle a second time in the “Manual’ mode, actuate the switch up to the
‘Auto’ position. The machine will operate the spindle for 1.5 seconds, then pauserotation and
index to the next station. This will repeat indefinitely until you again push the switch to the down
or ‘Manual’ position. Try adjusting the time while the machine is in ‘Auto’ mode. You will notice
that you may adjust the ‘Timer’ anytime you wish. The timing will change real-time.
(Note: You must push the switch down to the ‘Manual’ position while the spindle is
rotating to stop the function of the machine. The electronics will not recognize that you
have pressed the switch if it is pushed while indexing). Also please note you may turn
off the power to the machine at anytime using the ON/OFF switch should a problem
occur.
Before the machine ceases operation from ‘AUTO’ to ‘MANUAL modes, it will rotate one extra
station to remove the current cartridge case from between the torch flames. This will prevent
overheating of the last case in the Drive Plate if you anticipate stopping the unit too soon.
7. Now that we have learned the function of the Auto/Manual Switch, we will explain how to
index or adjust your Drive Plate properly. Please select 10 or so cases, preferably some you
can discard, that are the same caliber as the ones you intend on starting out with. You will want
to place a paint stripe on your sample cases using the 650°F and 400°F degree Tempilaq® .
Please refer to the picture below.
Without torches installed, place your cartridge
cases in the shell plate. Six or seven will be fine.
Free the Carrier Plate by slightly loosening the 2
thumb screws on top of the Clamp Plate. Rotate
the Carrier Plate clockwise/counter-clockwise to
approximately center the spindle in the drive hole in
the Carrier Plate. You can look straight down from
above the Carrier Plate to see the Spindle. Tighten
the knobs slightly. There is practically no force on
the Carrier Plate so only snug the knobs.
Form: Man10G107Rev. –A- 10 03-26-2010